By Isaac Beckstead
Student in residential MBA program

Since I have started Clarkson University’s MBA program, I have found that the staff is what truly makes the program great. There is no doubt: The one-year MBA is tough. Graduate school is a huge step in your life. It gets very stressful and puts students to the test. But our MBA office is always there to assist its students. It creates a support system that helps students throughout the program. Whether it be academic questions, job search questions or just having lighthearted conversation about the Bills quarterback situation, their doors are always open.

I remember during my first week last fall, someone told me that in graduate school you feel less like a student and more like a colleague. I have found that to be true across the board when it comes to the School of Business and its MBA staff.

One of the more important days on the Clarkson campus is the career fair that the university holds every fall. The program staff does a great job of getting everybody prepared for the event, even though the fair is so close to the start of our first semester as MBA students. We only had a month or so to get acclimated to graduate school and prepare for the career fair, which is where a lot of MBA students find their future jobs. The program staff helps set up a class and gives guidance just to help prepare us for the fair so we can put our best foot forward. Even though I was not actively searching for a job during this past year’s fair, the preparation I did and the guidance they gave me taught me a lot. I believe it helped me secure the internship I did this past summer. 

I worked as a marketing intern within the Syracuse University athletic department, and I was able to obtain the position with the help and support of Tanya Conto, the MBA program’s graduate coordinator and assistant advisor, and the rest of the program’s staff. It’s support like this, combined with a world-class education that makes Clarkson the place to be to become successful as students move into their professional lives.